IPOH: The Sarong Festival, held in conjunction with the National Month celebrations and organised by Pertubuhan Seni Kayangan Perak (Peskap) and Bagi Run Club, at Sultan Azlan Shah Roundabout here today saw eager participation by Malaysians.

Bagi Run Club president Khairul Amnan Osman said more than 1,000 participants, many of them wearing outfits featuring various types of sarong, joined in the activities aimed to promote and educate Malaysians about the garment and its history.

"About 400 adults and 30 children participated in the Sarong Run, a fun event meant to instil patriotism, with a 6km run for adults and 800m for children.

"We also want to demonstrate that Malaysians still appreciate cultural values and we can see everyone wearing sarong during the festival.

"The winner of the Sarong Run took home RM500, the runner-up RM300, and the second runner-up RM200 while the winner of Sukan Rakyat Sarong received RM1,000, the runner-up RM700, and second runner-up RM500.

"We also had cash prizes of RM100 for six 'most sporting" participants in the Senam Seni event," he said when met on Saturday (Sept 2).

Khairul Amnan said the festival was held with the cooperation of Perak Tourism, the Perak Culture and Arts Department, Temasya Budaya@Negeri Perak, Dedaun Rimba, and More Manjat.

"This is the second time it has been organised, and it is on a larger scale compared to the first time when we did it among our community.

"We hope to hold it again in the future because it can help promote the Malaysian sarong as one of the unique cultural elements in this country, particularly in Perak," he added. – Bernama